Gate: Wars of the Japanese Self-Defense Force
by Brooke Chiang
Summary: ***Spoilers for the franchise Gate: Thus The Japanese Self-Defense Force Fought There
1. Liberation of Ojima, Takeshima

Japanese Liberation of Takeshima

***Spoilers for the franchise Gate: Thus The Japanese Self-Defense Force Fought There

*Liberties Taken: I know that currently the South Korean occupation force on Takeshima (also called the Liancourt Rocks) consists of South Korean Coast Guard and an occasional police presence, but I imagine that in the event of racheted tensions between Japan and South Korea, South Korea would likely station Marines there, as they have in the past.

On board a Japan Air Self-Defense Force Kawasaki C-1 transport over the Sea of Japan, en route to the islands of Takeshima (occupied by South Korea), 2:37 A.M. …

Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi of the JSDF Third Recon Force checked her equipment again, fidgeting somewhat nervously.

"Nerves, Sergeant?" First Lieutenant Yoji Itami, the Commander of the Third Recon Team asked. "Relax, we'll be fine. Just remember your training."

"Well, South Korean marines aren't any Imperial or Bandit mooks, that's for sure. I'm not sure my skills will be the most use."

"Wow, Sergeant Kuribayashi being unsure before a battle?!" Sergeant Takeo Kurata exclaimed in exaggerated surprise, having overheard the exchange. "That's a first! Now I've seen it all!"

"Shut up!" The girl snapped back, elbowing him.

"You may not have much chance to fight in close combat, but you'll be in charge of the Type 62 machine gun. Think you can handle that?"

"Of course, sir!" The Sergeant exclaimed happily.

"Third Recon Team, we're coming up on the LZ! Be warned, the LZ may be hot!" The pilot warned over the intercom. "Repeat, the LZ may be hot!"

The rear door of the transport plane began to lower, and the soldiers prepared their parachutes.

"All right, deploy!" Lieutenant Itami ordered, before leaping out with a sigh.

"Yahooo!" Sergeant Kuribayashi cheered, an almost-comically large Type 62 machine gun slung over her back in proportion to the soldier's small frame. Aside from Lieutenant Itami and the eleven soldiers under his command, they were accompanied by a demigod and a mage from the Special Region, specifically an Apostle of the War God Emroy and a mage from the Rurudo nomadic tribe. Both of them were personally loyal to Lieutenant Itami and had come to assist their Japanese allies in liberating the islands of Takeshima from South Korean occupation.

"Wow, this is amazing!" Apostle of War, Rory Mercury, licked her lips in anticipation. It was her first time riding in one of Japan's flying machines, and she certainly didn't have to worry about Hardy up here.

As she watched Rory jump out of the plane, the young mage behind Rory sighed. "Even if the parachute device fails, I can still use magic to break my fall. Still, I've always disliked heights…" Leilei La Lelena muttered to herself in a monotone voice before following Rory and Lieutenant Itami's squad.

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South Korean Marine Base on Mejima (East Island) of Takeshima…

Commander Kim Eun-ha slammed down the phone in fury.

"What is it, Commander?" His subordinate, Captain Hong Jae-un drawled.

"Damn it, it looks like the Japanese finally got the balls to invade! It seems the JSDF transport our air defense detected earlier dropped off a few… uninvited visitors." Commander Kim's lips curled upward sadistically. "Captain Hong, why don't you take a squad out there and give them a very… warm welcome? You only have to delay them for a while, so we can take up our battle positions and emergency fortifications, but if you can kill them all, I don't mind! And I've sent out a call to President Moon, so Navy and Air Force reinforcements will be here soon! Let's send these Japanese bastards to hell!"

"Well, Commander," Captain Hong flashed an evil grin in response. "If, by some chance, they have some pretty girl soldiers with them… we would like to have… a little fun…"

"You're the same as ever, aren't you Hong Jae-un?" Commander Kim's lip chuckled slightly. "Just make sure you… dispose of all the evidence. If you get caught for war crimes like in South Sudan… this time, I can't protect you again. This is Japan we're talking about, not some third-world African shithole."

"Acknowledged, Commander!"

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On Ojima (West Island) of Takeshima…

South Korean Marine Lieutenant Park Jun-ho and Corporal Jang Su-hyong gazed down on the two paradropped persons on the rocky outcropping below.

"Hmm, looks like those two girls are the only two who landed on the rocks instead of the water," Lieutenant Park commented. "What's with the strange getup though? They don't look Japanese…"

"Hmm… a Gothic Lolita girl and a blue-haired mage… Ah! I remember! They're the guests from the 'Special Region'!"

"Ah, so they are now lapdogs of the JSDF! Though hardly surprising considering how they defended the JSDF on television. Damn Japan! Those girls should've been ours! Regardless, let's try to take them alive! After all, I'm sure those would be something Captain Hong would be 'into'!"

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Rory Mercury's sensitive ears perked up at the sound of what seemed like voices nearby, ones she could not recognize. "Stay down, Leilei! I hear people- I'll go scout it out! You wait for the JSDF."

Rory scaled a large, rocky outcropping with relative ease. "Ahh… it's somewhere around here…"

BANG! A sniper shot exploded at her feet.

"Gotcha!" Rory honed in on the ledge the sniper team was hiding on and spun around it, surprising the two soldiers there.

To Rory's untrained eye, both looked very similar to Japanese, but there were differences in uniform, and, as they chattered excitedly, she realized their language was not Japanese and thus unintelligible to her. _Ah, so this must be the enemy rival nation of Japan that Itami was briefing us about, the "Koreans"._

One soldier blasted her with a sniper rifle at point-blank range, ripping wounds in Rory's arms and legs. Wounds that quickly began to heal. The soldier blinked once, then unsheathed a combat knife and charged, yelling loudly.

 _What an idiot_ , Rory snorted, and easily bisected him at the waist with her battleaxe.

The second soldier panicked and stumbled away, firing madly at her with his sidearm, all the while fumbling with his radio and shouting wildly.

"Man, you aren't getting away that easily," Rory sighed, almost bored, and leapt at him, cutting the soldier down in a simple slash.

"Man, you didn't leave some for me?" A gruff female voice grunted behind Rory, as Sergeant Kuribayashi scaled up the rocks.

Wham! Tat-tat-tat! A series of bullets vaporized as they slammed into a magical ward.

"Don't worry- looks like they're a lot more coming this way for you," Leilei commented grimly, maintaining her blue magical ward to shield Kuribayashi.

The enemy gunfire had come from ten South Korean Marines rapidly racing toward their position, and Kuribayashi's eyes lit up. "Aha! Leave them to me!" She dropped to her stomach and leveled the machine gun. "For glorious Japan!"

The bullets raked into several South Korean Marines, dropping them on the spot, and the rest ducked for cover, retreating behind any rock formations they could cower behind.

Lieutenant Itami and the rest of the squad had just caught up, having landed in the water with flotation devices and being forced the climb ashore. He sighed upon seeing Kuribayashi blasting away with her machine gun and yelling expletives at the enemy.

"Sergeant, don't you always run out of ammo? You need to be careful where and how much you shoot." Lieutenant Itami then gestured to his subordinates. "Take up firing position, but be careful to stay in position!"

Firing down from concealed positions, the Japanese soldiers had a vantage over their South Korean opponents, and were able to pick off a few that were behind cover- but not all of them.

"Rory, can you help us take them out?" Lieutenant Itami shouted over the gunfire to the Dark Apostle.

"Sigh, and I had just healed by last injures too," Rory pretended to pout, but then broke into a grin. "Anything for my Itami!" The demigod charged through the crossfire, lethal for anyone but her, and leapt high into the air.

The South Koreans turned all their gunfire on the girl leaping down at them, but soon discovered it was futile. Rory made short work of her enemies, carving them up where they stood.

"All clear, Itami-kun!" Rory cooed, and Lieutenant Itami facepalmed.

 _Did Lieutenant Yanagida really promise Rory she could have me in bed in exchange for her cooperation? I'm not perverted enough to want to be ravaged by a Gothic loli demigod!_

"Everyone, fan out and stay alert!" Lieutenant Itami ordered. "There might be ambushes or traps!"

"Lieutenant?" Sergeant Major Suichiro Kurahawa reported. "Rory and Leilei have just combed this island for enemy holdouts, but there doesn't seem to be any. However, there have been confirmed booby traps and mines rigged about, so we shouldn't wander around casually!"

"Very well, if Ojima is secure, we'll leave the clean up to the sappers! Tell Sergeant Azuma to get the Zodiac rafts ready!"

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South Korean Marine Base on Mejima (East Island) of Takeshima…

"Commander!" A South Korean soldier reported. "We've haven't finished our defenses, but we've already lost contact with the entire advance squad, including Captain Hong!"

"Damnit! I mean, Captain Hong was expendable, but… that quickly?" Commander Kim cursed, kicking his own chair over. "Then it's time to get serious!"

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Irrelevant Historical Fact:

14 years ago on this day, April 2, 2004, radical Islamist terrorists from Al-Qaeda attempted to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid, less than a month after perpetrating the brutal March 11 Madrid bombings that killed 193 and wounded 2,050. Luckily, the second time around, they were discovered and thwarted by Spanish police.


	2. Liberation of Mejima, Takeshima

Mejima Island, Takeshima, Okinoshima, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture, Japan…

Lieutenant Yoji Itami and his squad poured out onto the rocky beach of Mejima, with Rory taking up the job of scouting while Leilei scanned the area for metallic mines or traps with her magic and picking them out.

"Lieutenant! We have an enemy police boat headed our direction, sir!" Private Hitoshi Furuta warned.

"Acknowledged, Private!" Itami nodded. "Everyone take cover and ready your weapons- but hold your fire! Rory, Leilei, keep an eye on the enemy base and alert us if anything changes!" He then gestured for Master Sergeant Tetsuya Nishina to come over to his side. "You know some Korean, don't you?"

"Well, a few phrases, sir," Nishina replied bashfully.

"Can you ask them to surrender or depart the area? I don't want to engage maritime police, seeing as they are technically civilians, but we won't have a choice if they shoot us."

"I understand, sir. Standard protocol for warning civilians?"

"Yes, Sergeant."

The South Korean police boat came into view, revealing three police officers, one in the pilothouse and two heavily-armed officers on the deck.

Nishina activated his comm's loudspeaker function and shouted in his best Korean approximation, "Police of South Korea! This is the Japanese Self-Defense Force and you are intruding on Japanese territory! We don't want to harm you, so we ask you disarm or leave this place peacefully!"

However, in response, the South Korean officers on deck, upon hearing Nishina's warning, lifted their submachine guns and opened fire in the direction Nishina's voice was coming from.

"Damn, I hoped to avoid this," Itami gritted his teeth as he and Nishina ducked further into cover, before tapping his radio. "Kuribayashi, take them down!"

"With pleasure, sir!" The Sergeant popped out of hiding, outside the police's line-of-sight, and raked the officers with a short burst of machine gun fire. "Hostiles down!"

"Good! Private Katsumoto, hit the engine with a LMAT! Check your rear before firing!"

"Noted, Lieutenant!"

A moment later, a rocket slammed into the rear of the police boat, blossoming in a fireball. The boat spiraled slowly, dead in the water, before beaching on the rocks.

"The third police officer seems to be taking cover!" Kuribayashi reported. "Permission to approach the vessel from its rear?"

"Permission granted! Stay sharp, soldier!"

"I've caught him!" Sergeant Kuribayashi declared eagerly. "Since he's a bad guy, I can just shoot him, right?"

"Not unless you want to face a war crimes indictment for shooting a surrendered civilian," Itami replied dryly, emerging cautiously from cover, Nishina covering his rear.

Kuribayashi was standing on the boat, her rifle leveled at a quaking, kneeling South Korean policeman, whose hands were placed behind his head.

"Sergeant Azuma, you're in charge of this prisoner," Itami ordered. "Don't let him escape, but don't let him come to harm either. I don't trust Kuribayashi anywhere near prisoners."

"WHAT did you say about me?!"

Ignoring her, Itami radioed, "Rory, is there any change at the enemy base?"

"No, Lieutenant. They seem to be staying in position."

"All troops, take up position around the base, but stay in cover! You too, Leilei!" Lieutenant Itami crouched down next to Sergeant Nishina. "On my mark, fire on the enemy defenses! Let's see if we can drive them out!"

The soldiers fired their weapons and Leilei launched attack spells, drawing return fire from the Korean forces, but the Korean forces didn't move position at all.

Lieutenant Itami peered at the South Korean Marines entrenched around their main base. "Still no movement. It looks like we can't draw them out. How much time do we have left?"

"An hour, maybe before the South Korean reinforcements get here, or less. Our own military has reinforcements inbound as well, sir," Sergeant Major Soichiro Kuwahara reported.

"Very well- we may have to storm the compound directly," Sergeant Nishina sighed. "What a bother."

"Can't we just call an airstrike on them, sir? The Air Force is nearly here," Sergeant Kuwahara proposed.

"Negative," Itami shook his head. "There are likely civilians in the base." He scanned the concrete and sandbag defenses. "The right side of the base got hit by Katsumoto's LMAT and looks structurally-damaged. Rory, do you think you could break through there?"

"Certainly!" Rory licked her lips. She hoisted her axe and charged at breakneck speed.

Several South Korean sentries spotted her and opened fire, but only a few bullets managed to strike the fast target.

BAM! Rory struck down a damaged concrete barrier and leaped into the South Korean trenches behind it, cutting down two surprised Korean soldiers before they could respond. Another two rushed her aggressively, firing their rifles, but she easily butchered them, moving swiftly through the enemy defenses like a battle wraith. That is, until she rounded a bend and came face-to-face with a South Korean vehicle. Rory surmised it was an armored vehicle based on her time in Japan, but it was smaller than Itami's Humvee. And on its back was a large, mounted cylinder pointed at Rory…

It took Rory a moment to comprehend what it was and to try to leap out of the way- but it was too late. The rocket ripped through Rory's flank, tearing a hole through her abdomen.

"GAAH!" She yelled in surprise, her limbs no longer working as they should. As an immortal, she could not be killed, but the damage would take a long time to heal and regenerate. "Itami," She gasped into her radio. "Can you hear me? There's some sort of armored vehicle here with a powerful gun! Itami?" There was only silence. _Shit, is this like the Flame Dragon lair again?_ Then the armored vehicle slammed into her.

BLAM! A fireball burst out the side of the trench, erupting from gaps in the concrete barrier.

"What the?!" Katsumoto exclaimed. "They set off explosives in that confined space? Are they trying to get their own troops killed?!"

"Are they that desperate to get rid of Rory?" Itami exclaimed. "Rory, come in! Rory! Damn it, there's no reply!"

"Don't worry, she's immortal," Leilei said calmly. "Even if she's injured, she'll be fine. Her radio was probably just broken in the explosion. We do need to figure out what caused the explosion."

"Very well," Itami lowered his head solemnly. "I'm sorry, Rory. Katsumoto, Leilei, the section of concrete barrier closest to the explosion's origin should be weakened by the blast, so focus your heavy fire there!"

"Understood," Leilei responded in her usual, seemingly-emotionless tone. "I can fine-tune my explosion magic to target cracks and structural weaknesses in the concrete."

"Don't we have a Howa Type 96 grenade launcher in our supply pack?" Private Hayato Sasagawa piped up. "We only have a few shots, but that'll be handy!"

"Understood, get it ready!"

Under the barrage of Katsumoto's rockets, Sasagawa's grenade launcher, and Leilei's magic, the concrete barrier crumbled, bringing the whole roof down with it… and revealing a light armored vehicle with a missile launcher on its back.

"Crap! Plasan Sand Cat with Spike missile system!" Katsumoto identified, moments before a missile lanced out and exploded nearby.

"Grh!" Leilei gritted her teeth, shielding those closest to the explosion with her magic to protect them from the shock wave.

"Leilei!" Itami cried out as the young mage collapsed from the strain of overexerting her magic. "Watch out-"

BOOM! BOOM! Consecutive explosions tore into the South Korean Sand Cat as Katsumoto, Sasagawa, and Kuribayashi unleashed rocket, grenade, and machine gun fire onto the enemy vehicle.

"Well, I guess that solved that," Sergeant Major Kuwahara commented anticlimactically.

"But all our magic-users are out of commission," Kuribayashi complained in annoyance. "Didn't you say Tuka could use magic too? You should have brought Tuka along for the ride."

"She's not cut out for this," Itami dismissed immediately. "Sergeant Kurokawa, stay with Leilei! Everyone else, come on, the enemy defenses have been blown wide open, so we're heading in!"

The Japanese squad charged toward the devastated enemy defenses, careful to minimize exposure to potential enemy firing positions.

The enemy defensive line was a scene of carnage- dead, dying, and wounded South Korean Marines lay about, quite of them taken out by their own Spike missile detonation. Body parts were strewn everywhere and bloody gore splattered on the walls. Rory lay in the mess, her body virtually torn apart, but still moaning softly.

"Troops, fan out and look for any remaining threats! If you see any wounded enemies that can be saved, take them prisoner!" Itami ordered, then knelt down beside the Special Region demigod. "Rory!"

"Don't- worry- about me," Rory croaked, then groaned. "I'm- re-regenerating."

"The coast is clear, Lieutenant!" Kuwahara reported. "Our gunfire, combined with Rory and the Koreans' own crazy explosion incapacitated all the enemies here. Some of the bodies are… messed up, but a preliminary count indicates around twelve dead, three beyond saving, and five wounded that we can still save. We've also located a barricaded door that likely leads deeper into the base."

"Good, that sounds like most of the garrison here, if our intelligence is accurate. Sergeant Nishina, Private Furuta, Private Tou, go escort Sergeant Kurokawa and Leilei into this bunker. That way, Kurokawa can take care of both Leilei and our wounded prisoners."

"Yes sir!"

"How barricaded is the door, Sergeant Kuwahara? Does it look like we need heavy weapons?"

"Probably not, it looks like it was haphazardly blocked in a desperate, last-minute attempt. But any remnant forces are likely behind there- we may have a firefight on our hands the moment it's opened."

"Right, then I want Private Katsumoto to prepare to fire his weapon to break the barricade, but for Private Sasagawa and Sergeant Kuribayashi to take point. Go!"

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Commander Kim Eun-ha slammed his fist down on the table. "What? We lost contact with the entire Marine force? Even the Sand Cat?"

"I'm sorry," South Korean Coast Guard Captain Byun Jeong-choo bowed his head apologetically. "It's probable the Japs have taken our defensive trench."

"Then I have no choice," Commander Kim loaded his own automatic pistol. "Deploy your Coast Guard personnel to hold the door! NOW! We'll fight to the end!"

"B-But s-sir-"

"DO IT!" Kim ordered, waving his pistol threateningly. "NOW!"

"Y-Yes s-sir!"

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BANG! The door flew open, and a flurry of bullets exploded from the other side. Sasagawa and Kuribayashi immediately laid down suppression fire in response with furious machine gun fire.

"Fire in the hole!" Itami ordered, and the other soldiers added their own rifle fire to the barrage.

The enemy fire stopped within seconds, but Itami stayed cautiously. "Nishina, tell them to throw down their weapons and come out unarmed if they want to live!"

Nishina relayed Itami's words, and a small handful of haggard Coast Guard personnel came up, hands held up in a gesture of surrender.

As Kurwahara and Nishina rushed forward to take them prisoner, Itami used this chance to enter the smoky room, scanning carefully. There were several dead Coast Guard men on the ground, as well as wounded wailing in agony. Further back, hiding terrified in an alcove, were eight unarmed men and women in civilian clothes. "Kuribayashi, help me clear- "

Abruptly, a man in South Korean Marine officer uniform emerged from behind a desk and shot Itami squarely in the chest.

"Grhhkkk!"

"Commander!" Kuribayashi shouted, raking the desk with machine gun fire and killing the assailant.

"Itami!" Sergeant Nishina exclaimed, running over to his commander's side. "Where are you hit?"

"I- Wait, huh?" Itami stared down, befuddled there was no wound on his chest. Then he remembered Rory. "Check on Rory!"

An injured South Korean in Coast Guard officer uniform stumbled to his feet, talking rapidly, and Kuribayashi leveled her machine gun warningly.

"Wait!" Nishina gestured to calm down Kuribayashi. "He says that the base commander, Commander Kim is dead, and as the highest-ranking officer left, he wants to surrender formally to us in exchange for the safety of his surviving men, as well as the civilians present. They were Coast Guard guys who had no business getting caught up in a war."

"Tell him the safety of his men is assured as long as they don't take up arms against us," Itami climbed to his feet. "Kurokawa can take- "

BOOM! A deafening explosion erupted from the top of the base, shaking the entire bunker.

"Crap, what the hell was that?!" Itami exclaimed. "Is the whole thing about to collapse?!"

BOOM! Another explosion caused a wall to fall apart and part of ceiling to cave in.

"Everyone, evacuate the prisoners and civilians, then get out!" Itami screamed, and as he looked up, he saw two menacing attack helicopters.

"We need to retreat back into the defensive line!" Kurahawa yelled, dragging a wounded South Korean Coast Guard.

"This is crazy! Don't they know their own people are down here?!" Nishina, thinking quickly grabbed a South Korean radio, turned it to standard, civilian SOS channels, and shouted, "Don't shoot! We have prisoners- South Korean prisoners, and civilians here too!"

At first, it appeared to have worked, the helicopters holding their fire for a minute, as the Japanese continued desperately dragging the wounded prisoners out of the way and the South Korean civilians made a run for it. Then, the helicopters fired again, fiery explosions raining down on the former South Korean base.

"Nishina!" Itami shoved his subordinate out of harm's way before being consumed in flames.

"AAAHHH!" Rory screamed instinctively as her body was immolated as she absorbed all the damage done to Itami.

"Wha- what- " Itami looked flabbergasted as he sat amid the rubble, having been saved from certain death by literal divine intervention from a deity. But only for a moment, he rushed down the tunnel to rejoin his comrades.

"Damn it, we couldn't save all the wounded prisoners!" Kurahawa exclaimed. "There were several Coast Guard personnel we weren't able to rescue from the explosion! They don't even care about the lives of their own men!"

"We don't have time to worry about that now!" Itami declared, turning to Nishina and the South Korean Coast Guard Captain instead. "I'm going to trust you now, that you won't stab us in the back, so when I say- "

"Third Recon Team, do you copy? This is the JDS Hyuga! Third Recon Team-" A voice came over Kurahawa's radio.

Lieutenant Itami immediately grabbed his second-in-command's radio speaker. "This is Lieutenant Itami, Third Recon Team! Thank goodness you're here, we're under attack- "

"Two South Korean helicopters, a KUH-1 Surion and AH-1 Cobra, judging from the signatures," The Japanese officer on the helicopter carrier confirmed across the radio. "Don't worry! Hang tight! Three of our own Cobras are seconds away now!"

"Thank goodness, Hyuga! You arrived in the nick of time!"

"No, actually, we were here patrolling on standby for awhile now, but we didn't notify you because we didn't want to disrupt your concentration in the midst of battle. Aside from us, there's also two Kongo-class destroyers as our escorts! Four F-15 Eagles and two Mitsubishi F-2s are circling high in the sky not far away! But we may soon have our own work cut out for us- two South Korean Pohang corvettes, two F-16C Falcons, two FA-50 Golden Eagles incoming!"

BOOM! BOOM! Explosions erupted close by, shaking the defensive tunnels they were hiding in to its very foundations.

"Good God- "

"No, wait!" Kuribayashi crawled to the shattered opening where the former South Korean base had been. "The enemy helicopters have been shot down! Both of them!"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Secondary explosions from fuel tanks and ammunition shook the very ground itself.

"JDS Hyuga! We confirm both South Korean choppers down! Are we in the clear!"

"Stay under cover!" The officer on the Hyuga shouted with uncharacteristic urgency.

As if on cue, the supersonic scream of a fighter jet assaulted their ears, followed by another explosion erupting.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Kuribayashi screamed, practically livid. "They shot down one of our choppers!"

That explosion was followed by another, then another.

"Damn it! It's the enemy F-16s!" The officer on the Hyuga raged. "You need to stay in cover!"

More supersonic screams filled the sky, overlapping, and streaks of light filled the sky. The planes were so high up they were barely fast-moving specks to the naked eye, but the eruptions of missile explosions were definitely visible. Light streaked from the sea in the distance, indicating that either the Japanese or South Korean ships were in the fight as well.

After what seemed like an eternity (but was probably only a matter of minutes) worth of explosions and flashes of light, everything finally died down.

"This is Hyuga! Third Recon Team, do you copy?"

"This is Itami of Third Recon. We're safe, but what's the situation?"

"The enemy forces have been decimated! The enemy corvettes have been sunk, and our destroyers are fishing out enemy survivors now. One of our destroyers, Ikazuchi, suffered moderate damage. We've shot down all four enemy fighters and two helicopters, but we lost three of our own helicopters and two fighters. It's pretty bad. Anyway, we're sending our transport helicopters to pick you guys up now!"

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Headquarters of the Japanese Self-Defense Force in Ichigaya, Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, Japan…

Lieutenant General Koichiro Hazama of the Special Task Force looked up when his aid, First Lieutenant Akira Yanagida came in the room.

"I read your report. Although we were able to successfully reclaim Takeshima, our aerial losses are unacceptable. I've sent a scathing report to the air force and navy. Luckily, thanks to our wonderful, magical auxiliaries from the Special Region, our ground assault force suffered no deaths, though both of our Special Region guests were injured, it seems."

"Well, one was technically overexerted, sir, not wounded by enemy fire."

"I see. Well, it still seems like a risky tactic to depend on them- we could lose them as valuable assets, not to mention their lives. Maybe we should re-analyze whether we should deploy child soldiers, especially with this high a rate of incapacitation."

"With respect, sir," Yanagida bowed his head. "Child soldiers are not unheard of in the Special Region and technically Rory is over 900 years old and an immortal deity. She would not be pleased to be called a child, and we shouldn't worry about her safety on the battlefield."

"This is Japan, not the Empire," Hazama quipped before stating conclusively. "Regardless, I intend to go over it with General Staff. In the meanwhile, inform the South Korean government that we have captured 103 military and police POWs, six government officials, and two civilians, and we are willing to repatriate them as soon as a ceasefire can be arranged."

"Understood, General." Lieutenant Yanagida bowed before leaving the room.

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Blue House, Seoul, South Korea…

South Korean President Moon Jae-in ground his teeth as he read the reports. "The damned Japs defeated our reinforcements at Dokdo?! They will pay for this! Unfortunately, the Americans seem to be backing their Japanese lackeys! I will have my revenge on both of them!"

"My President," Defense Minister Song Young-moo began exasperatedly. "I know how you feel, but with American bases on our soil, as humiliating as it is, we cannot move against them."

"I know, I know," Moon gestured. "Not directly, anyhow." He began to write on a notepad on his desk. "I'll have Trade Minister Baek Woon-gyu apply trade sanctions, tariffs, and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha apply stricter visa requirements against Japan and the U.S. Oh, why they're at it, I might as well slap sanctions on Taiwan, Israel, Australia, the U.K., France, Italy… after all, aren't they just U.S. lackeys? I will make the world notice our plight!" He looked up, rage bottling in his bespectacled eyes. "We may not be able to do much against them militarily, but we know others who can! Contact our… new friends. China, Russia, North Korea! It's time for payback against those Japs!"

To be continued in the Defense of Hokkaido…

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Eight years ago this day, on April 10, 2010, a Polish Air Force Tu-154M presidential airliner tragically crashed near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people.

The dead included the brave, strong-spoken, conservative President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski (Law and Justice), a brave right-wing leader and anti-communist, his wife, a former Polish government-in-exile president, Poland's Chief of General Staff, the Chiefs of Staff for the Army, Navy, and Air Force, a Deputy Foreign Minister, the Chair of Poland's National Bank, the Director of the National Security Bureau, Head Chaplains of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, three Deputy Parliamentary Speakers, 15 other Polish MPs, the head of the Polish Olympic Committee, the Polish Commissioner of Civil Rights, a renown trade union activist, the Chair of the Polish Bar Association, and General of Poland's Special Forces.

Altogether, 13 Polish generals were among the dead.

Late Lech Kaczynski's twin brother, former Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, would succeed him as Chairman of the Law and Justice Party.


	3. Response to the Liberation of Takeshima

Brotherhood of Nod Eastern Command in Beijing, China…

A man concealed within a black cloak walked rapidly through the darkened stone hallways of the secret Nod temple deep underground beneath China's capital city. He reached the fortified temple's central edict center, where two Nod Praetorian Guards let him in.

Inside, a lone man stood watching a tactical screen depicting JSDF and American military deployments across Japan.

"Finally here, eh, General Tsing? Do you have news from President Xi?"

"Yes, Lord Seth! The Chinese forces have been mobilized and are ready for war on a moment's notice! We've also notified Northern Command in Moscow and Southern Command in Hanoi, who are mobilizing as well. It's unlikely Vietnam will join this war, but they want to be prepared nonetheless. We also have reports from the Nod office in Pyongyang- the Global Liberation Army has convinced the North Koreans to attack Japan as well."

"Tch! Crazy troublemakers!" Seth scoffed at the Global Liberation Army, a covert international terrorist group that was bitter rivals with the Brotherhood of Nod. "But we need all the help we can get. Who is in charge of Southern Command- Lady Lieu Hanh, was it? Maybe she can lean on the Vietnamese more to join the war."

"To be honest, my lord," General Tsing remarked, "I was extremely surprised that Japan took such a bold move to retake Dokdo. Do you think the Global Defense Initiative pushed for this?"

"The pansies at the GDI wouldn't dare," Seth snorted. "But they are really unhappy at the left-wing Moon Jae-in regime in South Korea and Moon's pro-communist foreign policy. I suspect they probably gave the Japanese covert approval under the table."

"Well, none of that matters now, so long as we have our excuse for war!" Tsing hit his left palm with his right fist. "South Korea stands on our side, at least politically. With the combined might of China, Russia, and North Korea, we'll bring Japan to its knees and push back the American bases! The GDI will regret its interference, covert or not!"

"Well, let's not celebrate too soon, General," Seth looked amused. "Save the festivities for when we erect new temples in Naha and Sapporo!"

Background Information:

The Global Defense Initiative (GDI) [Good] is an organization founded by the Western Allies after the end of World War II, initially to combat communist aggression and later terrorism to preserve freedom. Headquartered in New York, London, Tokyo, and Tel Aviv.

The Brotherhood of Nod [Lawful Evil] is a shadowy cult organization seeking to enslave the world, and was behind the rise of the Soviet Union, allowing communism, which was previously a small, extremist ideology with no real chance of gaining power, to seize control of a major world power. Today, it mainly acts by propping up oppressive regimes and dictatorships, and is headquartered in Moscow, Beijing, Hanoi, and Mexico City.

The Global Liberation Army (GLA) [Chaotic Evil] is a shadowy international network of terrorist and criminal organizations which perpetuates continuous chaos by supporting and manipulating terrorist, insurgent, rebel groups around the world. Some of its leadership genuinely believe the GLA's twisted ideology of anarchy and war, while others profit off weapons proliferation to terrorist groups. Headquartered in Tehran, Pyongyang, Havana, and Khartoum.

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65 years ago, on June 17, 1953, more than one million East German people rose up in over 500 towns and cities across East Germany, tired of years of oppression by the brutal Soviet occupation and Soviet puppet-communist regime of Walter Ulbricht.

Unfortunately, under the orders of Lavrentiy Beria, the notorious chief of Stalin's NKVD secret police, the Soviet Forces in Germany and the Volkspolizei (the armed wing of Ulbricht's communist Socialist Unity Party) began a military crackdown. They murdered up to 142 demonstrators, in order to intimidate the largely-unarmed protesters, and was successful in cowing most of them. By comparison, only five Volkspolizei were killed when the protesters attempted to defend themselves against communist violence.

The sacrifice and bravery of the East German protesters was commemorated in democratic West Germany, with June 17 being named Day of German Unity.


	4. Defense of Hokkaido 1- Russian Invasion

Defense of Hokkaido 1- Russian Invasion

Japan Airspace Near Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan…

Staff Sergeant Ichiro Kawasaki of the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, codename Ginza Five, banked his F-15 Eagle fighter as he finished his dawn patrol. "Looks like we're done for the day, Six," He commented to his wingmate, Airman Second Class Hinata Takayasu, codenamed Ginza Six. "You want to catch a bite to eat together when we go on leave later today?"

"Sure thing!" Hinata chirped. "I suggest the-"

"Ginza Five, Ginza Six, we're detecting two unidentified bogeys entering Japanese airspace! Looks like two Sukhoi Su-24 Fencers, judging from the signature and speed! Move to intercept!"

"Looks like the Russians are testing us again," Airman Takayasu sighed.

"Yeah, looks like it, Six," Kawasaki had served in the Air Force for many years, long enough to remember when Russian incursions were rare.

But since 2014, after Japan supported international sanctions against Russia following the aggressive Russian invasions of Ukraine, Georgia, and Syria, Russian airspace violations increased massively, becoming a regular occurrence.

Kawasaki and Takayasu turned their fighters around to move on the bogeys' position.

"Control, we are closing in on their position," Kawasaki reported. "Huh? They don't seem to be altering course like usual."

"Russian defectors, Five?" Takayasu suggested.

"I don't know," Kawasaki muttered nervously. "I have a bad feeling, Six. Stay sharp!"

"Hailing them!" Takayasu declared, then started in English. "Unidentified military aircraft, this is the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force! You are trespassing on Japanese airspace! Declare your intentions or leave our airspace immediately! If you refuse to cooperate, we will open fire!"

"They're not responding or altering course! They haven't responded to ground control hails in Russian either!" Kawasaki yelled to his wingmate. "We're approaching visual range, so it's safer to initiate weapons lock!"

Abruptly, the two Russian-built jets suddenly rose in altitude, charging towards the Japanese fighters.

"Enemy weapons lock- no, enemy missiles inbound!" Airman Takayasu reported in consternation.

"Deploy chaff! Fire missiles, fire!" Kawasaki bellowed.

The F-15s fired chaff and their own missiles before breaking away as fast as possible, just before four Russian AA-11 Archer missiles exploded amidst the chaff cloud they left behind. Their own AMRAAM missiles struck home, blowing both enemy Sukhois straight out of the sky.

"What the, Control!" Kawasaki panted. "They were hostile!"

"Looks like that was just testing us!" The ground controller shouted, sounding alarmed for the first time in this incident. "Thirty- no, forty, fifty unidentified signatures just entered Japanese airspace across the Russian maritime border north of your position! We may be facing a full-scale Russian invasion! Fall back! We're sending out fresh squadrons!"

"Shit, shit, shit!" Takayasu cursed, with the soft sound of her pounding something coming through Kawasaki's headphones as they read the readout. "Bogey MiG-29s, MiG-35s, Su-24s, Su-25s, Su-30s, Su-35s! It's a whole, goddamn invasion force! We have to fight! Now!"

Kawasaki knew the girl had reasons for getting so worked up- her family was from Hokkaido, and the fear of what might happen to them in a Russian invasion was getting to her.

"Calm yourself, Six! We need to go back to refuel and rearm before we can get back in the fight!"

"Damn it," Takayasu choked emotionally, mellowing out. "But if they're headed to bomb our airbase…" She let the implication hang.

"Reinforcements moving to intercept!" Ground control declared over the radio. "Forty-eight fighters- F-35s, F-2s, F-15s! They'll cover you while you get back to base!"

Within twenty minutes, the two wingmates were landing at Tokachi Airfield. As mechanics raced forward to refuel and rearm their fighters, an officer ran up to where Kawasaki and Takayasu were disembarking.

"Air Defense Command wants you debriefed!" The officer barked. "Come with me!"

"With all due respect!" Takayasu gesticulated wildly and agitatedly. "Lieutenant, all our data can be transferred from our planes' computers. At least let me get back in the field! This is our country we're talking about!"

The Lieutenant muttered into his headset, then paused, as if waiting for a reply. Finally he said, "All right, the debriefing can wait. They really need all the pilots they can get. The Russian Navy has invaded Japanese waters, and another wave of thirty fighters just penetrated our airspace. Staff Sergeant, are you up as well?"

"If my wingman is going, there's no way, I'd let her go alone, sir," Kawasaki asserted. "Count me in."

"Good luck, soldiers." The Lieutenant nodded grimly, before making a break for the airfield's facilities.

 _I hope I made the right choice_ , Kawasaki thought. He was feeling somewhat pumped, but he'd been on duty for hours now without rest, and that could affect his judgment in a fast-action dogfight. But all the same, he couldn't let young Takayasu risk her life alone.

No sooner were the F-15s were airborne once again, a pair of MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters, clearly emblazoned with the stars of the Russian Air Force, streaked overhead, and dropped bombs toward Tokachi Airfield.

"The bastards!" Takayasu raged, gunning her fighter toward the enemy.

"Wait, be careful!" Kawasaki warned, bringing his own fighter to his side. "Don't lose yourself to your anger!" He fired an AMRAAM, but the Russian jet released chaff and evaded it. "Damn it!"

"Die!" Takayasu screamed in close to the other target and opened fire with her Vulcan cannon, shredding the MiG's tail fins and ripping out chunks of the starboard wing. The Russian jet burst into flames and went into a spin, with the pilot visibly ejecting. "What were saying about anger, sir?" The Airman said, almost cheekily.

"Just- " Kawasaki shook his head. "Watch out for the other Fulcrum! It's to your nine o'clock, but slowing! It's trying to get on your six!" He turned his F-15 as hard as he could, firing out a series of AMRAAMs.

The Russian jet reacted, firing out chaff, but not quite fast enough, and an AMRAAM blasted through its fuselage in a bright flash.

"Thanks!" Takayasu breathed. "I nearly fell for their trap."

"And I just used up most of my AMRAAMs," Kawasaki gritted his teeth. Below them, he could see smoke rising from the airfield. Hopefully there were no casualties and damage was light, though he couldn't really tell from his position.

"Well, I'll defend you now, then, Five," Takayasu offered sheepishly. "Let's go hunt some Russkies!"

The two fighters streaked over the Soya Strait, which had become a heated battlefield between the Air Forces of both nations.

"Looks like the F-35s are keeping Fulcrum-Fs and Flanker-Es busy, thankfully!" Kawasaki shuddered at the thought of having to go against the more-advanced MiG-35 and Su-35 Russian jets. "But the Russians are breaking through with their superior numbers! You see the four Backfires and two Flankers to starboard? No one's covering them- let's take them out!"

Four Russian Tu-22M Backfire bombers, escorted by two Sukhoi Su-27 Flankers were attempting to slip through the completely-overstretched Japanese defenses, presumably to unload their deadly explosives onto targets in Hokkaido.

"Understood, Sergeant!"

The F-15s swung around in a wide arc to fall behind the enemy forces.

"Firing AMRAAMs, sir!" Takayasu fired two missiles, one of which struck a Flanker in the port wing as the Russian pilot attempted to dodge, and the fighter plummeted toward the sea.

Kawasaki copied the daring maneuver his wingmate had pulled on the Fulcrum earlier, pulling his fighter right behind a Sukhoi, and firing his Vulcan cannon.

But the Russian pilot skillfully rolled his fighter, then rose steeply, hoping to lose his Japanese pursuer.

"Oh, what the heck," Kawasaki fired off three Mitsubishi Type 99 missiles, one which homed in on the escaping Su-27 and blasted its engine apart.

"Good, we can take out this bombers!" Takayasu's fighter screamed after one and fired a salvo of Sidewinders, downing the bomber in a series of bright explosions. She pursued after another one, this time firing Type 99s.

"Watch your ammo, too," Kawasaki counseled, downing a Backfire with his next-to-last AMRAAM. "Lord knows I need to-"

An alarm began beeping wildly in his cockpit. "What? An enemy missile lock? Wha-" He released chaff and took evasive manuveurs.

"Naval missiles!" Takayasu answered his incomplete question. "The Russian ships are firing naval SAMs! Probably medium-range!"

"We've never encountered this type before!" Kawasaki read the data on his radar. "Can't identify the model! What else do the Russians have up their sleeve?"

As if to answer his question, another beeping began. "A different SAM? Crap, S-350s!" He turned his fighter wildly, trying to shake missile locks, but an explosion through the back of his fighter let him know it hadn't been successful. Alarms began blaring across his cockpit. "I've been hit! Losing fuel! The engine's out! I'll have to eject!"

"Damn it! Stay safe, Five!" Takayasu shouted.

Second later, Kawasaki fired his ejection seat, launching him out of his fighter with bone-jarring g-force.

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Takayasu stomped her feet angrily as she quickly took her fighter out of range. With the Japanese fighters scattered, her wingmate down, and Russian naval SAMs gunning for them, there wasn't much more they could do. "Can't I do anything more to protect Hokkaido?"

Luckily, at least, she'd seen Kawasaki's parachute- though whether he could even be rescued by friendly forces was totally up in the air. Japanese naval ships were moving to intercept the Russian onslaught, but it remained uncertain how long they could hold out, and if they could carry out rescue operations.

"Ground, my wingmate is down? What's the situation?"

"Ginza Six, we're losing control of the air! Remaining fighters have been ordered to focus on defending our warships engaging the Russians. You're to report back to Misawa Air Base for refueling and rearmament."

"Misawa?! Isn't that in Aomori?! On Honshu?" Takayasu exclaimed, flabbergasted. "Don't tell me- are we abandoning Hokkaido altogether?!" Images of her parents' house flashed through her mind. _All of it in Russian hands_ …

"Negative. But we don't have any safe air bases on Hokkaido anymore! While most of our northern air forces were engaging the Russians, over a hundred Chinese and North Korean planes hit Hokkaido from the west! They took out airfields, radar stations… the SAMs and old F-4s left defending the bases were able to limit their attacks, but we suffered heavy losses as well. With the Chinese and North Korean fleets on their way, Hokkaido is no longer safe for our aircraft. Misawa is defended by American forces, so it should be relatively safe. This is an order… it's not up to negotiation, Airman."

"Yes… sir…" Takayasu ground her teeth. Then she noticed a blip on her radar screen, in front and below her. "A lone Backfire?" Could it be… the last of the four bombers they'd engaged earlier? Checking she had enough fuel for one last engagement, her angled her fighter downward and swooped down on the Russian bomber like a bird of prey. "DIE, SCUM!" She launched her remaining six AMRAAMs, which after firing, she realized was probably excessive.

The Russian bomber jinked furiously, dodging two of the missiles. But the other four missiles struck their target, consuming the plane in the ball of flames. With that she realized it was her sixth kill, and she'd exceeded the kill count needed to be an ace. Furthermore, she realized Kawasaki had only scored four, if she counted correctly, forcing a grim smile to her face despite the desperate situation.

 _Don't worry Hokkaido,_ Takayasu thought as her fighter sped south. _I'll be back, one way or another. And stay safe, Ichiro. I'm praying for you._

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Irrelevant Historical Fact:

12 years ago on this day, April 17, 2006, a cowardly Palestinian terrorist suicide bomber detonated a bomb inside the Rosh Ha'ir shawarma restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing himself and 11 civilians, and wounding 70 more. The dead included 1 American, 1 French, and 2 Romanians. The radical Islamist terrorist organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), claimed responsibility, with the larger Hamas (which controls the Gaza Strip) endoring the PIJ attack.

The family of the lone American killed, Daniel Wultz, successfully sued Iran and Syria, which both fund and arm the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, in the U.S. District Court, and were justly awarded 323 million dollars for damages. Of course, the radical Islamist regime of Iran and its allied socialist regime in Syria refused to pay, in their usual disregard for rule of law or human life.


	5. Defending the South (Senkaku Islands)

JSDF Wars- Chapter 4- Defending the South

Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force _Asagiri_ -class destroyer, JDS _Hamagiri_ , near the Senkaku Islands (Pinnacle Islands), Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan…

Seaman Makoto Honda of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force groaned as he pushed himself up from the bunk. It was almost time for his dawn shift and he was still exhausted. No time to waste though and he hoisted himself to his feet, and made for the washroom. After relieving himself, brushing his teeth, and washing his face, he began to straighten out his uniform when-

BLAM! Something loud and violent reverberated through the ship's very hull, catching Honda and his fellow crew preparing for their shift unawares. They felt the ship begin turning wildly.

"What the hell- was that?"

Alarms blared throughout the ship. "This is an emergency! All crew to battle stations! This is not a drill!"

Seaman Honda raced for his position at ship's firefighting duty station, as he'd trained during drills many times before.

"What's going on, sir?!" He asked a petty officer on the prior shift.

"It seems we were just under fire!" Petty Officer Third Class Sugawara seemed just as consternated as he read readouts sent out from the bridge. "A Chinese Q-5 naval attack plane which had been tailing us, fired a C-701 missile! We managed to shake it with chaff, and fired one of our Sea Sparrow SAMs! The Chinese plane fled, and the JASDF is in pursuit! Furthermore, earlier, there were reports that two Coast Guard Cutters disappeared while patrolling the waters west of the Senkakus last night. At first, we thought it could be comm failure, but we still haven't established contact, so it could be something much, much worse…"

"All hands to battle stations! All hands to battle stations!" A voice shouted over the intercom as alarm klaxons rang. Four bogeys approaching from the southwest!"

The ship rocked violently as Sea Sparrow SAMs were launched to intercept the enemy aircraft, while turning evasively.

"Missiles incoming! Brace, brace!" The voice warned.

BANG! Seaman Honda fell over despite holding on for dear life, as the entire ship sank a little, then bucked up, coupled with a loud explosion sound.

"We've been hit!" A Leading Seaman, Fuyuhiko Gasai, exclaimed as damage report lights shone and numerous alarms resounded. "Damage control is reporting losing power to port side! Taking in water in several lower engineering decks! Fire in the mess decks! They need firefighting there!"

Officer Sugawara turned to Seaman Honda. "Go put out the fire in the mess decks! I'll send someone after you!"

"Yes, sir!" Honda grabbed a fire extinguisher and raced toward the mess decks.

As he climbed up out of the emergency ladder leading into the mess decks, he witnessed a hellish scene: a huge hole had been blown from the main weather deck all the way down to the mess decks, twisted metal and raging flames scattered about. Through the hole, he could see the sky, and he arrived just in time to see the ship launch another Sea Sparrow, streaking rapidly into the sky and disappearing from view.

He put out the flames blocking the emergency fire hose with his fire extinguisher. Taking advantage of the gap, he lunged forward and opened the emergency fire hose box. "Oww!" The metal case handle was hot, and he burned himself. Disregarding the pain, he pulled out the firehose and began dousing the flames with seawater.

KABOOM! Another detonation rocked the ship, followed by a supersonic boom. Honda glimpsed a jet streak high up in the sky through the now-gaping hole in the ship, anti-air cannon from the ship's Phalanx CIWS streaking after it.

An announcement came over the intercom, shouting something, but since the intercom for that section was destroyed, and the sounds of battle drowned out more-distant intercom speakers, Honda retreated back down the ladder to a more-intact deck.

"Emergency! Emergency! Abandon ship! Abandon ship!"

Honda dashed through the narrow corridor desperately, until he encountered a pair of nervous seamen and grabbed one. "Hey! What's going on?"

"A missile, anti-ship or something, just hit starboard! We're taking on way too much water! We're losing power section by section!"

The seaman broke free from Honda's grasp and disappeared down a corridor.

Honda decided to dash to the lifeboats himself. When he reached there, several had already launched.

"Hey, wait for me!"

"Hey, it's Honda!" A sailor getting into one of the lifeboats, Petty Officer Third Class Hideki Yagami called out. "Grab my hand!"

Honda grabbed the officer's hand and felt himself being dragged onboard.

"Okay, we're full!" The lifeboat lurched as it was lowered into the water. As it gained some distance away from the _Hamagiri_ , Honda was shocked by how much the destroyer was listing to starboard.

As if reading his thoughts- or maybe his facial expression was too obvious- Petty Officer Yagami bemoaned, "We were hit really badly on the starboard side. There was no saving it! Damn Chinese! I heard we managed to down a few of their planes though- huh?"

Honda had begun to sway, as the adrenaline in his blood wore off. Slumping down, he leaned against the side of the lifeboat for support, resting his woozy head.

"Hey, you alright, sailor?" Yagami patted Honda's shoulder. "You look really pale. Were you hurt somewhere? Breathed some bad fumes?"

"No- I- just feel a little dizzy- running around- " He didn't get to finish his sentence as everything blacked out.

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When Honda finally came to, he was in what appeared to be a military hospital ward, with several of his shipmates gathered around his bed and an IV in his arm.

"Hey… you're back," Petty Officer Yagami noticed. Unlike most of the other sailors, who'd dozed off, he had been awake and was reading something on his smartphone.

"W-where am I?"

"This is Chiran military hospital in Minamikyushu in southern Kagoshima."

"Southern Kagoshima? Not Okinawa?" It seemed like the more obvious destination to Honda.

"You've been out for half a day. Might as well be a year based on all that's happened.

"Why- how- did I faint?" Honda groaned, feeling embarrassed.

"The doctor said you were in shock, likely combat-related stress. You need to rest." He walked over and pushed Honda back down, as the younger seaman had been struggling to get up.

"We're in Kagoshima because the entire Senkaku incursion was all a damn diversion! The JMSDF had detected an increased number of incursions by Chinese military and fishing vessels yesterday, so they directed us and the Coast Guard to ward them off. We took heavy losses- two Coast Guard Cutters and our _Hamagiri_ was sunk, and our sister ship _Umigiri_ took damage from enemy fire. Reports say at least forty Japanese servicemen were killed around the Senkakus, though we shot down six Chinese planes in the process. But it was all a trick to draw out our southern patrol fleets and disperse our forces! The Chinese took advantage of this to invade Okinawa and southern Kagoshima, reaching as far north as the Koshikijima Islands! The enemy is a fucking arm's throw away from us! The US Navy was unable to help at first, because, simultaneously, the Russians, Chinese, and North Koreans all invaded Hokkaido from the north, and the Seventh Fleet was sailing there to intercept instead! It was only later that US naval reinforcements arrived to link up with the JMSDF to prevent the Chinese from landing on Kagoshima's mainland!"

Honda gaped wordlessly at Yagami's rant, as he tried to grapple with the new flood of horrifying information. Japan, which had seemed so safe and secure yesterday, now seemed in mortal danger of being overrun by its enemies.

"Damn…" Yagami muttered, half to himself. "We.. should've see this day would come. The fate of Japan hangs in the balance."

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Irrelevant Historical Footnote:

Four years ago this day, May 16, 2014, the nefarious Somali Islamist terrorist group Al-Shabab detonated two improvised explosive devices in Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya, one of them on a minibus. The blasts killed at least 12 people, and wounded over 70.


	6. Itami's Vacation Ends Early

Itami's Apartment in Tokyo, Japan

First Lieutenant Yoji Itami plopped down on his couch and sighed happily. Yesterday, he'd spent a very busy day at a doujin convention in the Ginza district of Chuo, Tokyo and purchased several intriguing new doujins. Today he was able to sit down and enjoy the doujins-!

RIIING! RIIING! RIIING!

"What is it now?" Itami groaned as he picked up his phone. "Who is it?"

"First Lieutenant! Yoji Itami!" Sergeant Major Soichiro Kuwahara's voice roared with annoyance. "Where the hell have you been? We're outside your door!"

"Kuwahara! What are you- " Itami muttered irritably.

"Just let us in! We need to discuss our counterattack immediately! Open the damn door!" The voice of Sergeant First Class Shino Kuribayashi shouted into the phone.

"Counterattack?" Itami frowned blearily as he opened the door.

"Where the hell have you been?! You weren't home yesterday afternoon and didn't answer our calls! Lieutenant Yanagida and General Hazama couldn't reach you!" Kuribayashi exclaimed. "We thought you died or something!"

"If it wasn't for the war meetings, we'd have camped outside your door all night! As it was, we barely got any sleep!" Kuwahara added vehemently.

"How could you derelict your duty at a time like this?!"

"Hold on, hold on," Itami held up his hands defensively. "How is it a dereliction of duty if I'm on leave?"

"You're thinking about leave?!" Kuribayashi practically screeched, nearly foaming at the mouth. "At a time like this?! Have you no sense of duty? Of patriotism?! Japan's about to fall!"

"You're overreacting," Itami gestured, not realizing the situation at all. "I don't know what you're so worked up about, but Japan's not in mortal danger. Did something happen in the Special Region? There's nothing there that can break through our base at Alnus. Or did the South Koreans strike back at Takeshima?"

"Of course she's not talking about either!" Kuwahara threw up his hands. "Wait, you don't know yet?"

"Know what?" Itami remained bemused. "I was at a doujin convention all day yesterday, but I forgot my cell at home. When I finally got home, I read doujins till I fell asleep from exhaustion. I got up not long ago, and tried to check my cell phone, but I was surprised to find there was a problem with cell reception. I wasn't expecting anyone anyway, so I returned to doujins."

"Cell reception, huh?" Kuwahara muttered darkly. "It's probably all the folks who have friends or kin in Hokkaido or down south."

"More importantly, Russia, China, and North Korea have invaded!" Kuribayashi screamed. "Most of Hokkaido has fallen and the Ground Force is barely clinging to the southern holdout region! The Chinese have occupied Okinawa and southern Kagoshima! Do you even watch the fucking news?!"

"WHAT?!" Itami leapt out of his chair. "You're kidding! Right?!"

"What's worse is, we failed to destroy the bulk of the enemy fleets!" Kuwahara remonstrated. "Aside from supporting the invasion of Hokkaido and the southern islands, they also sent ships to carry out indiscriminate naval bombardments of Sakata in Yamagata, Sado and Joetsu in Niigata, killing hundreds of civilians, then fleeing back to their home ports before JMSDF or the US Navy could respond. We, and the Americans only managed to sink a handful of isolated enemy warships."

"Do Tuka, Leilei, and Rory know?"

"Yep! They wanted to help! Considering how much Japan has done for them, they're really thankful. They volunteered to be sent to the front lines! They should be on their way to an insertion at Chitose, Hokkaido." Kuribayashi smiled devilishly.

"Wait a minute, aren't they attached to Third Recon?" Itami was pulling at his hair in frustration. "Who are they with now?"

"Well, with you still absent somewhere, Third Recon was unable to deploy, so General Hazama assigned them to Fourth Combat Unit!"

"Holy crap! We need to rescue them!"

Pleased by how riled up her superior was, Kuribayashi was satisfied by how easy it was to get under his skin. "Well, our truck is outside! Our orders are probably sitting at Lieutenant Yanagida's desk as we speak!"

When Itami finally arrived at Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force Headquarters in Ichigaya, Tokyo, he practically ran into the briefing room. "Yanagida, where are our orders at?"

"My, my, back from vacation already. What's the rush?" Lieutenant Yanagida teased, but Itami could tell his heart wasn't in it, unlike usual.

"Just give me the briefing already," Itami groaned. "We have no time for this!"

"Very well. But don't say I didn't warn-"

Itami snatched the briefing file from Yanagida and read the first few lines as fast as he could. "WHAT?!"

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Irrelevant Historical Footnote:

Three years ago on this day, July 16, 2015, a diabolical Palestinian-Jordanian terrorist (Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez) born in Kuwait attacked an Armed Forces Career Center and a US Navy Reserve center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, brutally murdering four US Marines and one US Navy sailor in a shooting spree, before being killed by return fire.


End file.
